Big Reveal: Zak Folkman Teases Major RWA Expansion and “WorldSwap” Launch

On February 12, 2026, speaking from the Auros Mainstage at Consensus Hong Kong, Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), hints at the launch of WorldSwap and RWA expansion move. He also laid out a vision for the “Future of Finance” that extends far beyond the project’s initial stablecoin success.

Folkman revealed that the current $5.3 billion market cap of USD1 is merely the foundation for a much larger ecosystem. The central theme of the address was a shift from building simple crypto tools to completely replacing outdated legacy financial systems that Folkman described as “slow, expensive, and exclusionary.”

Challenging the $7T Forex Market

The most immediate expansion is WorldSwap, a remittance and foreign exchange platform designed to abstract away the complexities of crypto wallets. Folkman highlighted the inefficiency of the current $7 trillion-per-day Forex business, where middlemen charge between 2% and 10% in fees.

By connecting directly to global debit cards and bank accounts, WorldSwap aims to offer instant settlement at a “fraction of the cost,” specifically targeting the unbanked and freelance workers who currently lose significant portions of their paychecks to incumbent players.

Real-World Assets: The Next Frontier

Folkman teased “big announcements around the RWA space” that will be the centerpiece of the Mar-a-Lago event. Tokenizing Real-World Assets—such as real estate, treasuries, or private equity—is seen as the “holy grail” for bringing trillions in institutional capital on-chain.

By integrating RWAs into the World Liberty Markets lending protocol, which has already seen $320 million supplied in just four weeks, WLF intends to provide deep liquidity and yield-bearing opportunities that are compliant with the Genius Act.

The upcoming World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago is being framed as an invitation-only, closed-door summit for approximately 300 global leaders. The guest list reads like a “who’s who” of traditional and digital finance, including David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Jenny Johnson (Franklin Templeton), and Michael Selig (CFTC Chairman).

Transparency as a Competitive Edge

In a move to distinguish USD1 from competitors like Tether, Folkman announced that WLF is the first stablecoin to enact Chainlink’s Proof of Reserves in real-time. USD1 is currently sitting at about a $5.3 billion market cap.

While traditional competitors offer monthly or quarterly attestations, WLF is leveraging on-chain solutions to allow users to verify reserves 24/7. This transparency is a key pillar of their strategy to become the “primary settlement layer” for both retail and institutional agentic payments.

The Consumer Application

A final pillar of the hype cycle is the upcoming Consumer Application, expected to launch by the beginning of Q2 2026. Folkman described the experience as a “wallet that feels like Cash App or Venmo,” allowing users to spend USD1 at point-of-sale via debit cards while earning yield on their digital dollars.

The goal is to make the technology “invisible,” removing the friction of gas fees and transaction complexity that has previously kept crypto out of the hands of everyday consumers.

Zak Folkman concluded his address with a reminder of the project’s origin: “World Liberty Financial was born when the Trumps got debanked.” By rebuilding the financial system from the governance layer up, WLF is positioning itself as an anti-fragile alternative to legacy banking.

All eyes now turn to Palm Beach on February 18th, where the project is expected to transition from a successful stablecoin issuer to a comprehensive global financial powerhouse.

Also Read: China Clears Offshore RWA Tokenization, Boosting Investor Interest

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